And Though She Be But Little, She Is Fierce.

Droodles by Roger Price (from his 1953 book). Droodles (a blend of “doodle”, “drawing”, “riddle”) are simple drawings with a witty, often absurd, caption. The first one, as some of you may know, was used by Frank Zappa for his 1982 album, Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. (Zappa, a fan of Price's work, lived just a few miles from the artist and personally sought permission to use the image.)

I fought with Tumblr’s search engine for 5 minutes to find this shitty quality gif of what I feel is just the most important Crying Bradley scene (someone must have a better quality image, yeah?).

Arthur’s tears are so complex here, the pain mixed with betrayal and denial and desperation for it not to be fucking true, that the one man he trusted above all other men would have been lying to him for so long. Not Merlin, not him, please not him.

The tears are very there-and-you-miss-them, especially if watching on iPad, but Arthur truly is crying here, against his will, because he’s in such pain, and Bradley’s performance is just so stellar and yet so underrated because he has Colin as a scene partner, just fucking knocking it out of the fucking stratosphere with his “I have magic” confession.

Jeebus I hope it didn’t go anywhere Bradley James could possibly see it.

Not that it’s not true.

But you know.

Jensen Ackles, Sin City Countdown, Salute to Supernatural Las Vegas 2015

The Henry's 🌹 - from The Drum Beats Out of Time by @sparklepocalypse & @orchidscript

There’s a man in Henry’s bedroom. That, itself, isn’t noteworthy. He’s become rather proficient at smuggling men in and out of his room at Kensington Palace and his first-year flat at Oxford.

It’s not even especially noteworthy that the man is quite arresting. For better or worse, Henry’s title and reputation tend to help him pull gorgeous men with somewhat astonishing frequency. This man is, of course, particularly gorgeous. He’s tall, with olive skin, dark hair, and a bone structure that would send the old masters into a frenzy of pigments, linseed oil, and canvas.

You are loved.

We know Arthur's going into the fight with the intention of letting Uther win so that the king can save face. But Uther makes this as hard as possible for Arthur, goading him and triggering him by saying stuff like "when I was your age I conquered camelot. I didn't inherit this kingdom, I won it" or "one day you'll be strong enough to take my crown, but not yet". And so as a consequence, at the beginning, Arthur fights him properly, with all the skill he has, letting Uther feel his anger. He quickly and efficiently overpowers Uther, throwing him to the ground.

But then, seeing Uther getting back up, desperate with fear of humiliation and almost hatred towards his son, Arthur's perception of Uther shifts. For maybe the first time in his life, Arthur sees his father for what he has become.

He sees the man he has looked up to all his life, the man he's always wanted to make proud more than anyone, the man who he always thought saw him as a disappointment. That man is now desperate, red in the face, lashing out like a panicked animal. And in this split second he turns from someone to be feared and admired to someone to be pitied. He is no threat to Arthur, he is no match for Arthur, and in this one moment Uther ceases to have power over Arthur.

So Arthur throws the fight, but even though the crowds cheer for Uther in the end, it is Arthur who has won. Uther may hold the sword to Arthur's chest, but they both know who is the stronger warrior, the better person out of the two. Arthur no longer needs his father's validation, because he has stopped looking up to him, has stopped fearing him, and instead feels only pity for his vain, desperate father who needs his own son others to feel small in order to feel powerful himself. The power dynamic between them has shifted and Arthur has defeated Uther more definitively than by the sword.

And Arthur doesn't feel pride or satisfaction at this realization, but a weird kind of sadness to see his childhood hero reduced to this, to see his father so desperate for the crowd's validation. Arthur can swallow his pride for the sake of his father (and you can see how hard it is for him) but Uther can't do the same for his son. It's in this exact moment that Arthur proves that he is truly ready to be king, that he is going to be a better king than Uther could ever dream of being.

HI--this is my post from reddit...sharing it here because I really want to know what y'all are reading!

I'm always looking to discover wonderful fanfics and I soooooo many fics that I love have come from suggestions here! So I want to play a fun "challenge" (challenge isn't really the right word for this but we're going to use it anyway, k?)

HERE'S WHAT TO DO:

Go to your History

Starting from your most recent read scroll back and note fanfics you've LOVED...(meaning, if in your 5 most recent fics you've read you've only truly LOVED 3 of them then keep scrolling back until you have 5!)

When you have 5 of them, list them/link them here!

I'll start!!!

Just Like North by anincompletelist (soldouthaz) This is a Maze Runner au. I have personally never read or watched Maze Runner but trust me, the writing and story telling is SO GOOD that it won't matter. If you like dystopic future/badass Alex fics YOU WILL LOVE THIS!

love thorns all over this rose by theprinceandagcd  @theprinceandagcd HOLY SHIT. This fic killed me in all the best ways. The writing is amazing. It will tear your heart apart before it is put back together so if you like angst, READ THIS IMMEDIATELY. Alex thinks he's incapable of being a good boyfriend due to a past experience--together with his "not good enough" stuff this is a potent combo. So when he hooks up with Henry, he makes it clear it is just sex and friendship...of course, Alex is a tortured soul...you guys--this fic is so good and my summary is lame...just trust me--EXCELLENT.

all i wanted (was you) by ksmalltalk Author's summary: It's been nearly a decade since exes Henry and Alex have last seen or heard from each other. After one unexpected night of reuniting thanks to the meddling of their mutual friend, the pair find that neither time nor circumstance can stop their flame from rekindling. With the complications of Henry's marriage to another man and his scheduled return to London looming, the two must navigate life's difficulties as they grapple with what a possible future could mean for them. NOTE: the epilogue hasn't been posted yet but no reason to think it won't be. This is a reliable poster. AND even if the epilogue never gets posted, the story is complete and SO SO SO WORTH READING!

With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) by kiwiana  @kiwiana-writes Dare I say, one of the absolute best fics in our fandom. This is actually a re-read I did. Author's summary: Alex is a former child star struggling to make the transition into being seen as a serious actor. He jumps at an opportunity to perform on stage in the UK, seeing it as a way to break free from the typecasting and show what he can really do. But he wasn’t prepared to star alongside someone he hates. // Henry is a recent theatre graduate who accepts an amazing role in a queer reimagining of Much Ado About Nothing. And then it turns out his co-star is none other than the man he’s been hopelessly pining after for years—even though Henry made a terrible first impression when they met. // It’s… well, it’s practically Shakespearean.

Breathing In, Breathing Out by smc_27 One of the best writers in our fandom, I believe. Author's summary: He can’t believe just when he started to get the sense he actually knew what he was doing, Henry would pull this. Like, as far as Alex knows he hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s on time for dates and he calls when he says he will. He remembers what Henry likes to eat and what his favourite drink is. He doesn’t watch movies alone that he thinks will be fun to watch together. He tries not to be distracting when they’re supposed to be studying.

He’s been thinking of Henry as his boyfriend in his head for like two weeks now.

Worrying Henry’s been lying about how much he likes this - how much he likes Alex - fucking hurts.

Okay! I can't wait to see what you've been reading (that you love)!!!! Yay! Thanks for playing!

BONUS--CURRENT READ IS

Heaven isn’t too far

Heaven is where you are

There is a Sam version of this somewhere apparently and I need it. If anyone finds it before I do, I will gift you… I literally don’t even know. Just ask for something. You’ll probably get it. Same as Sam will be getting it. 🥵🥵🥵